Quick Tab For Mac

When you switch between apps using Cmd-Tab, you have to keep pressing Tab until the right app is selected. If you have lots of apps open, this means repeatedly hitting Tab every time you switch to a different one.

Quick Tab is an interesting solution to this issue — when pressing Opt+Tab, you’ll see a different, smaller selection window, where you can just press a number key corresponding to a specific open app in order to switch to it.

Cmd-Tab is absolutely not suitable for workspaces where lots of apps are open at the same time, unless you’re only switching between two of them. It’s very inefficient, and frankly annoying, to cycle through them by pressing Tab over and over.

Quick Tab is definitely better in these situations, as you can just use Opt+Tab and press a number while still holding down Option. As a bonus, you see app names in the selection window, and because the icons are much smaller, lots of open apps won’t be a problem.

While the idea is great in principle, there’s a practical issue: when holding down Option, there are only a few number keys you can reach with your left hand, which means you’ll have to use your right hand instead, which is a problem if you’re using a mouse. An option to keep the selection window on screen until a key is pressed would help.

The app appears in the menu bar and Dock, and there’s no option to hide it from either of these locations. Also, while the selection window can be moved, it will always appear in the middle of the screen when opened again.

Quick Tab could be very useful for window management in complex workspaces, particularly on a MacBook. If you use a mouse, however, you’ll find yourself having to use two hands to switch between apps, which isn’t ideal. Some additional features might help with this, and more customization options would be nice too.